MOON TWP — Matt Happ and the Seneca Valley boys soccer team are well aware of the large and indelible target on their backs.

A No. 1 ranking in the state will do that. A No. 21 ranking in the nation also has a way of garnering a great deal of attention.

The Raiders have had to deal with that in the first two rounds of the WPIAL Quad-A playoffs. Seneca Valley eked past Kiski by a goal Saturday and then carried a first-half Happ goal to the finish line in a 1-0 win Wednesday night over Canon-McMillan at Moon High School.

“Playoff environment is totally different,” said Happ, a senior forward. “It doesn't matter if you are the one-seed or the 16th-seed. Everyone just seems to step it up when playoffs happen.

“I definitely think they see that we're No. 1,” Happ added. “They all want to take out the No. 1 seed.”

Canon-McMillan's strategy was apparent from the first minute.

Make it as difficult as possible for Seneca Valley to mount an offense.

The Big Macs did that by packing in the defense. Because of that, they mounted no offensive pressure in the first 40 minutes as Seneca Valley outshot them 11-0.

“Sure it was. Absolutely,” said Canon-McMillan coach Larry Fingers. “It worked great. We got caught in one moment. Credit to Seneca. They are great. The one moment we got caught on, we gave up a goal.”

That moment was right in Happ's wheel house.

For one of the rare times in the first half, Canon-McMillan made a run at the Seneca Valley net, but lost possession.

That opened up some space for Happ on the quick Seneca Valley counter. Happ punched a shot past Big Mac keeper Nick Frediani into the bottom right corner of the net with 6:32 remaining in the first half.

Happ was playing out that shot as he was approaching.

“That's exactly what's going through my mind,” Happ said. “I see the goalie going near-post and that's the main way I've scored this season. I just want to tuck it in far post. I was excited when that play happened.”

It was all Seneca Valley (17-0-1) needed.

It was all Canon-McMillan (11-8) was willing to surrender.

“It really is difficult when a team is sitting back and packing it in,” said Seneca Valley coach George Williams. “It really is hard to play against. Much like a power-play in hockey, you just have to work the ball around and be patient.”

That is sometimes easier said than done.

“It's really hard because as a forward I just want to go go go,” Happ said. “It was a big sigh of relief (getting that goal). It's always that first one. We usually come out in the second half and fire in a goal. Getting a first-half goal was huge for us, especially going into the half. We can talk about what we need to do better to keep that 1-0 lead.”

Canon-McMillan mounted a little more pressure on Seneca Valley in the second half, managing three shots — two on goal. But Raiders' keeper Dylan Good was up to the challenge.

“He was solid. He has a great presence in there, a great deal of confidence,” Williams said. “That translates out to the players in front of him.”

Seneca Valley has given up just three goals this season and one was on a penalty kick Saturday against Kiski.

Seneca Valley will play Upper St. Clair (12-4-1) or Allderdice (16-1-1) in the semifinals Saturday at a time and site to be determined.

And, undoubtably, the Raiders will be an even bigger target.

“We got what we needed to get the win and move on,” Williams said. “We're trying to enjoy (our place in the rankings). We're just trying to not put too much pressure on us. You definitely try to live up to it.”